MUM.DOCTOR.BEAUTY.FASHION.KIDS.TRAVEL.MOTHERHOOD.

Let’s Get Fit !

For 5 months I had the advantage of using a single excuse that most of us use post delivery-

“I just had a baby, I’ll loose my weight soon.”

Yes I knew I was overweight during that 5 months, and yes I was on a ‘diet’ – but obviously I got my diet steps wrong,cause i barely lost 2kgs.

At my 4 month of motherhood, I had no choice and had to return to work. Till then I was very comfortable sitting around home,and hiding from the external world – and all I had to wear was my shorts & my big-baggy t-shirts. So fitting into my pre-pregnancy clothes was still not an issue,cause I didn’t need it – YET!

A week before i started work,it was time to face reality. I realized i wasn’t able to fit into my old pants,and my shirts became 2 sizes smaller!! I knew this was coming.But not being able to even zip my pants – THAT WAS NOT ACCEPTABLE!

OK Malini – you need new pants! Cause in one week I’m obviously not gonna lose 10kgs! So I grabbed my jeans to head out to get new pants – and that was another SLAP on my face! I obviously couldn’t even fit into my jeans!!

So what option did I have now?? Yup – I put on my maternity drawstring pants shamelessly,and went out to get new clothes! But I knew I couldn’t get away that easily from my excessive weight!

So I got a little selfish – and allowed myself to buy only 1 pair of jeans and 2 pairs of pants for work!! That is all I deserve!

So the 2 options I had was – I either keep wearing my maternity tops/clothes with this one pair of jeans,OR you lose your weight to get back into your old clothes. It sounds a little nasty and mean – but that was my only option!

And that was how my journey to getting fit begin.

Many mothers out there are very comfortable with their post-pregnancy bodies – and I totally respect these ladies for embracing it in a good way. However, there are some of us who would feel a lot more comfortable and confident in our pre pregnancy weight. Always remember,nobody should push you to it – cause you should decide what makes you confident & happy. Not your husband,partner,parents,siblings or friends.

Getting fit and healthy should come from your own will – you either want it or not! Cause it all depends on your determination and the time you put in. Many mistaken getting ‘THIN’ is the same as getting ‘FIT’. No!

I didn’t choose to be THIN – cause I felt being FIT was a lot more sexier 😉

I’m not saying I got a good-looking set of abs – cause i still haven’t reached there yet! But I’m very sure I’m a lot more healthier and confident with my body. My aim was to lose weight the healthy way. Never ever assume that by starving yourself – you’re gonna lose that 5kgs !! No way !

My first move was – get my ass to the gym!!

I’m not a newbie to the gym, but I still knew I needed a little ‘push’. So I got myself a Personal Trainer(PT) to give me that push, and guide me on getting healthy. But you don’t necessary need a PT if you have someone to guide you and accompany you at the gym. You need to make the gym your favorite spot – so grab your hubby or a friend and get yourself to the gym. Anything that makes you get to the gym is good enough; but please do not get yourself to the gym and waste your time chatting away with your partner/friend. So make it a good 1 hour of work,and sweat it out!!

Have someone guide you on how to use the instruments,and what is best for you. Before i got a PT, I use to assume everything was good for me!! I didn’t know the mechanisms of the machines,and grabbed everything that I was familiar with. That was another problem – it’s always our instinct to do things we are familiar with. Is it doing good or bad?? No idea- as long as I’m familiar with it! But that’s the wrong and lazy way!! Always explore and get an idea of the equipments available – ask questions and learn from the gym trainers. I’m very sure they’re not gonna charge you for asking how to use a particular equipment.

You have to like the idea of going to the gym, so it doesn’t stress you out that you’re forced to go there. My PT was amazing! He was willing to teach me and go step-by-step with me,and gave me that extra push every time I hit the gym! He motivated me,thought me a lot – and most importantly he didn’t torture me in a ‘bad’ way,while giving me realistic expectations. So i use to love my gym routines!

Next step – ALWAYS HAVE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS.

Never expect to lose 10kgs in a week or two!

Do not expect to drop 2 sizes after just 1month. Be realistic!! Always lose weight the healthy way,and don’t assume if you starve yourself this next 3days – i might just lose that 5kgs!! Nothing was built over night – so be patient and keep motivated.

In the beginning stages,you might feel that there’s no changes in your body & you’re just wasting time. But hang in there! It took me months before i could fit back into those old jeans.

Two months after i started the gym,I started developing a left knee pain. I being a typical doctor – figured I was ‘OK’ , and the pain was probably just a effect from the treadmill. So I continued with my gym sessions,but did alarm my PT that I was having this pain. So we took it a little slow with the treadmill,and focused more on carrying weights and working the upper body. I was still determined to go all out in the gym – since I was a full time working mum,I only had the advantages of going 2-3 times a week to the gym,so i had to make it a good one hour every time i hit the gym. Obviously 2-3 times a week wasn’t good enough,but that was all the time i could afford. So a ‘knee pain’ wasn’t gonna slow me down.

I kept ignoring the pain,and kept saying i was ‘OK’ – just so my PT wouldn’t slow down on me. Eventually the pain got so severe,I couldn’t even stand-up from sitting on the floor while carrying my daughter. If i had to walk up one flight of stairs while carrying my daughter – I would have to sit for a couple of minutes when i reached the top,cause the pain was so dreadful!!

Eventually i gave in,and got myself an appointment with a Sports Orthopedic Surgeon. Since my Xray was normal , i was asked to do an MRI of my left knee. Finally after 2 weeks of waiting – i was told i had a ‘Ruptured Popliteal Cyst’ in my left knee, and was ordered to take 6 weeks of complete rest on my knee for it to heal and dry up. Since the cyst had already ruptured, and from the MRI scans it was seen leaking through my muscles – there was nothing more left to do,but just rest and let it heal. Telling me to take 6 weeks of rest was not the worst news – BUT telling me that this can be recurrent and i could get it again – THAT was difficult to accept!!

Why i got it? The physiology started during my pregnancy, due to overwhelming of hormone production – causing overproduction of my synovial fluid in my knee, which eventually became a cyst and ruptured when i was straining my knee at the gym.

For 2 weeks i avoided the gym to allow the pain to subside,and by the 3rd week i was back at the gym – but totally avoided exercises for my lower part of the body. Thank god for my PT who was the best teacher – got me to work just my upper body,and still gave me a good workout in that one hour.

No matter what happened – I still kept motivated and didn’t allow anything to crash me down. I could have given up and stopped the gym completely – but that wasn’t what i wanted,and i wasn’t gonna allow it bring me down on what i wanted to achieve. Obviously since i couldn’t do my lower body exercises and my cardio was totally cut down – it was a lot more difficult for me to reach my goals,and that meant it was gonna take a longer time. But still – NOTHING WAS GONNA SHUT ME DOWN!

Exercising wasn’t’ the only step I took to get fit – it was also what i put in my mouth that made a huge difference! My PT didn’t only teach me how to workout right – but he also taught me how to eat right! Always remember ,to lose weight – its 30% of workouts + 70% of your diet that does the trick! No point if you’re gonna workout everyday in the gym, and still come home and indulge in that Mc’Donalds burger for dinner!!

I started of with a low-carb diet,with lots of protein since i was going to the gym. Low carb diets are the best to start of with,and make sure you’re able to control yourself. It was very difficult for me in the initial few days, since i was doing it alone cause hubby thought it tasted like ‘cow-food’ and gave up after 2 days ;0

I use to count every net grams of carbs i took in a day,just to keep count of what ate. Eventually after a few days on Google, i had found loads of recipes that were low carb – and yet tasted so good! This made the journey a lot more interesting, cause i started to experiment a lot in the kitchen,and grocery shopping became a lot more fun!! You would be surprised to find the different ingredients you can try to make one healthy dish. This became fun and challenging , instead of looking at it as a chore to eat right!!

I discovered the miracles of an air-fryer, how to make a low carb pizza , how to indulge in sugar-free chocolate cookies and still feel good , the benefits of peanut butter and the guilt-free of eating almonds!!

We all have our favourite meals we can’t give up – so learn to improvise on it and make it a healthy dish! When you practice this, the journey becomes a lot more easier and fun. Eventually my hubby started eyeing my dishes,and demanded he had the same thing i was eating 🙂

So it’s all about eating right & making it to the gym. You dont have to starve yourself,or how some people assume if they ate just fruits for a week – I might just lose all that weight ! NO way! Not one day have i practiced starving myself,or trying out on those ‘weight loss tea’ miracles . Please do not waste your money on those teas/drinks you get from some pharmacy. I had so much fun in the gym and cooking healthy for my hubby and me – that’s all you need!

Get motivated,or get someone to join this journey with you – it becomes a lot more fun,so you’ll can try new recipes and hit the gym together. Obviously you’re allowed to have those ‘cheat’ days once in a while. I like to do my ‘cheat’ days during the weekends when I go out with my hubby and daughter. So make it fun for yourself!! It’s all about eating healthy,and not starving yourself – cause starving yourself is just gonna bring down your metabolism , and thats the last thing you need to lose weight.

I dont have a toned set of abs YET (though i wish i did), or sexy toned arms – but i know I’m a lot more healthier and fit today,and i had a whole lot of FUN doing it!!

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